1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a camera module for mobile communication terminal, and more particularly to a camera module suitable for use in cameras built into mobile telephones, the personal handy phone system (PHS) and mobile information terminals and a mobile communication terminal.
2. Description of the Related Art
Mobile telephones, one of the latest categories of mobile communication terminals, are increasingly diversified in function, and many models with built-in cameras are now available in the market. Along with that, users' requirement for multi-directional shooting is increasing. For this requirement, a mobile telephone with a single variable-direction camera has been proposed.
As disclosed in the Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2001-136254 and the Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2000-253118, for instance, there are proposed structures in which a single camera is provided rotatably with a rotating mechanism, so that the camera can be flexibly moved as the user desires.
However, a structure to make the camera rotatable requires not only a complex rotating mechanism, such as a universal joint, but also wiring inside this rotating mechanism for electrically connecting the camera and circuits within the mobile telephone, resulting in a correspondingly complex wiring structure.
It is also conceivable to build a plurality of cameras into the mobile telephone body, but this would entail an increase in two-dimensional and three-dimensional space for mounting the plurality of cameras, and moreover each camera would need a printed circuit board to accommodate electrical wiring and circuits for controlling it, which would prove to be another factor to increase the required mounting area and the complexity of internal mounting.
An object of the present invention, attempted in view of these problems involved in the prior art and with an eye to obviating the disadvantage of building in a plurality of cameras, is to provide a camera module that can eliminate the increase in mounting area and in the complexity of wiring and other aspects where two cameras are to be mounted and further can facilitate their mounting, and a mobile communication terminal using it.